University of British Columbia
RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE AND DISPOSAL AUTHORITY

Schedule No.:

006-04

This is a recommendation to (check one):

X -- Establish retention/disposal schedule

Series Title:

Student Dockets - Doctoral

Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR):

Faculty of Graduate Studies

Purpose and Description of Records:

This series is, in part, the hard-copy equivalent of the Academic Records (SIS) database. It contains the academic records of students currently enrolled in PhD programs at the University, as well as those who last attended no more than two years ago. In addition to the information contained on SIS, each docket in this series may contain academic transcripts from other institutions; letters of reference; visa records for foreign students; medical certificates; correspondence regarding tuition fees, registration, and other matters; and test scores. This additional documentation supplements that which is available on SIS, and like that in Academic Records, is used by University staff to monitor students' academic progress while they attend the University.

The responsibility for maintaining these records was shifted from the Registrar's Office to Graduate Studies in 1988. If students who originally registered at the University as undergraduates go on to graduate work, Graduate Studies opens new dockets for their own records.

Personal Information Bank?

X -- Yes

Vital Record?

X -- Yes

Retained by:

X -- Academic Year

Retention Period (Years):

Office -- 6 yrs.
Records Centre / Storage -- 2 yrs.
Total -- 8 yrs.

Final Disposition:

X -- Destruction

Retention Instructions:

The Faculty of Graduate Studies retains the file of every PhD student in its entirety for six years - the period of eligibility for earning a degree. Files are retained for an additional two years after graduation. They are then destroyed, except for rare cases, such as dockets containing disciplinary notices, and dockets of students who have been recognized for academic or other achievements - such materials may be retained permanently.

Academic offices (i.e. deans' offices, academic departments) shall retain their copies of the records kept in this series for one year after students' last registration. At the end of this retention period, these records are to be destroyed, except those of special academic or disciplinary interest.

Appraisal Rationale:

Records in this series must be retained for at least one year after a students' last registration, in accordance with the requirements of Section 31 of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) Act.

Although student files kept by academic offices largely duplicate that which is retained by the Graduate Studies, they may contain additional information. Therefore, in order to guarantee full compliance with the FOIPOP Act, academic offices should retain those files for a full year after those students' last registration. For these reasons they should be considered vital records.

The two-year post-graduation retention period is implemented by both the Registrar's Office and Graduate Studies to take into account longer-term administrative needs. However, there is no need for other offices to retain records in this series for more than the one year specified in the FOIPOP Act. Also, because of the bulk of these records, and the fact that any information of long- term value that they contain is stored on SIS, it would not be cost-effective to retain them beyond the retention periods described above.

Date of Initial Publication:

12 August 1997

Revisions: